| When I first started my birth practice 10+ years ago I never could have imagined the power the internet would come to have for my business. While I did have a basic website, most of my marketing was done through posters, flyers, and word of mouth. Even with the growth of the online realm, it is still possible to have a successful practice in this way - certainly word of mouth remains one of our most powerful marketing tools. In most cases, however, if you want to see your birth practice thrive - you need to invest in having a strong online presence in the form of a quality website and effective use of social media. |  |
In recent years we've seen facebook grow as the predominant social media form used by Birth Professionals. While it has been quite effective for those who have used it actively, with this year's introduction of EdgeRank and lower visibility of postings to existing fans of a page facebook is far less useful as an engagement tool unless you are able to post with great regularity & foster high rates of comments & likes for your posts.
Newer on the scene is Google+, growing steadily and offering an intriguing blend of functions that are very well matched to the social media needs of your birth practice. I am still quite new to Google+ and am learning the ropes, but already can see tremendous potential for engagement with past, current & future clients as well as colleagues. Here are my sweet & simple top 5 reasons why you should be starting your page on Google+:
1) Circles
Through the circles feature Google+ offers far more flexibility in terms of how you organize your contacts, and who sees your posts.
2) Quality
No 140 character limit here - Google+ allows you to post true quality content without limits. Our work is full of substance and meaning - now our social media platform can honor that spirit with a different depth of sharing.
3) Integration
Google+ is fully integrated with your other google products such as Google Docs, Picasa & Gmail, so it's easy to share documents & photos.
4) Live Hangouts
This is one of the coolest features of Google+, and one that I believe has tremendous potential for us as birth professionals. You can actually host a live question & answer session with potential clients, or free workshops that all of your circles are invited to. These can even be recorded to share with others who were unable to attend!
5) Visibility
Your presence on Google+ will help boost your website's visibility on the Google search engine. This benefit alone is enough to warrant investing some time in the Google+ social media platform!
I hope to see many of you join us for the free call this Friday, October 26th. Use the link above to learn more & register. I am cohosting the call with the fabulous Tami Smith of Targeted Traffic Strategies - she's a search engine specialist whose energy & skills are a perfect match for holistic professionals. This free call will also serve as a taste of our upcoming SEO for birth professionals webinar starting January 14th. Learn more...
Newer on the scene is Google+, growing steadily and offering an intriguing blend of functions that are very well matched to the social media needs of your birth practice. I am still quite new to Google+ and am learning the ropes, but already can see tremendous potential for engagement with past, current & future clients as well as colleagues. Here are my sweet & simple top 5 reasons why you should be starting your page on Google+:
1) Circles
Through the circles feature Google+ offers far more flexibility in terms of how you organize your contacts, and who sees your posts.
2) Quality
No 140 character limit here - Google+ allows you to post true quality content without limits. Our work is full of substance and meaning - now our social media platform can honor that spirit with a different depth of sharing.
3) Integration
Google+ is fully integrated with your other google products such as Google Docs, Picasa & Gmail, so it's easy to share documents & photos.
4) Live Hangouts
This is one of the coolest features of Google+, and one that I believe has tremendous potential for us as birth professionals. You can actually host a live question & answer session with potential clients, or free workshops that all of your circles are invited to. These can even be recorded to share with others who were unable to attend!
5) Visibility
Your presence on Google+ will help boost your website's visibility on the Google search engine. This benefit alone is enough to warrant investing some time in the Google+ social media platform!
I hope to see many of you join us for the free call this Friday, October 26th. Use the link above to learn more & register. I am cohosting the call with the fabulous Tami Smith of Targeted Traffic Strategies - she's a search engine specialist whose energy & skills are a perfect match for holistic professionals. This free call will also serve as a taste of our upcoming SEO for birth professionals webinar starting January 14th. Learn more...
